Candriam reveals the 2018 FIFA World Cup Winners

With us just a fortnight away from the 2018 World Cup football kick-off, we give you an overview of the main sectors and companies that might benefit from it. Candriam has identified the potential winners.

As the World Cup – which starts in Russia on 14 June – approaches, global companies are bracing themselves for an acceleration in demand and sales. The FIFA[1] World Cup is one of the most prestigious events in the world and often considered to be a short-term boost for the tourism, retailing, and food & beverage sectors.

Sectors benefiting from the Cup

Food & Beverage is one sector that is about to benefit from the World Cup’s popularity. Football and soft drinks, beer and snacks have always been a great match, according to a report published by Anheuser-Bush InBev and McDonald’s. Logically, the World Cup is expected to boost consumption, and not only in Russia. For instance, German brewers benefited from the championship in 2014, won by Germany. The Statistics Office saw a sharp increase in beer consumption when the World Cup started in Brazil. Before, the latest year-on-year beer sales increase in Germany was in 2006 – according to the DBB brewing organisation – when that country hosted the Cup, and where, you will remember, Zinédine Zidane ended his career with a memorable header, in the final. Without a doubt, beverage consumption, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, will benefit from this year’s football event. This is clearly in favour of sponsor Budweiser, one of the Anheuser-Bush InBev brands. In June 2006 alone, the first month of the World Cup 2006 in Germany, almost 10 million hectolitres of beer were sold in Germany, an increase of 14% on the same month the year before.

A sporting event has a positive short-term impact on the sectors that are directly implicated in hosting the spectators. The World Cup will, without a doubt, support Russian aviation, which has been booming in recent years. Domestic airline capacity has grown by a stunning 14%, according to OAG, one of the world's largest networks of air travel data, while the World Cup is expected to bring an additional 3.5 million visitors to the country (gross attendance across 12 cities). This will definitely also support international airline companies and local tourism (hotels, restaurants, …).

The sponsors

World Cup jerseys than ever, over 8 million, and realised record sales in its football division. Adidas is a clear world leader in these types of events and is sponsoring 11 teams (out of 32, vs. 10 for Nike) at this year’s cup, including the last two winners, Spain and Germany, and the host country. Nike’s top teams include France and Brazil whereas Puma has only four teams in the tournament – Senegal, Serbia, Switzerland and Uruguay.

FIFA partner (since 1974) Coca-Cola has co-sponsored every World Cup since 1978 and will remain in place until 2022. The company got off to a solid start to 2018 and the World Cup might provide an additional boost, as Coca-Cola’s efforts during the World Cup of 2014 resulted in a significant sales increase during the competition. In addition, increasing brand awareness following the Cup should provide a longer-lasting positive impact. According to AffinityAnswers, Coca-Cola’s reach among tournament fans grew at twice the rate of rival Pepsi. Coca-Cola was the preferred soft drink among tournament fans during the World Cup of 2014, and the momentum also seemed to continue weeks after the tournament.

And last, but not least, Visa is also taking the World Cup Opportunity to show off its innovation skills. First of all, in 16 countries in the world, the Visa check-out has been offered as a quicker and easier payment method, while portable payment technologies such as a payment wearable and ring, introduced during the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016, are also being promoted. This will benefit Visa, which expects an increase in the number of transactions and in the actual amounts spent during the Cup. For instance, visitors to the World Cup in Brazil in 2014 spent 31% more per card than regular tourists. In the form of beverages, most probably!